In the agricultural industry, there are many situations in which pests must be controlled or eliminated to enhance and/or promote growth in a target area. The term "pests" is intended to be a broad term which includes small animals (such as field mice), weeds, insects, foliage, vegetation, etc. The term "target area" is used broadly in this application and is intended to include fields of crops such as corn or cotton, wooded areas, grazing areas for cattle, etc.
In combating pests in a target area, a product must be selected which is effective in controlling or eliminating the specific pest and which is usable in the particular target area. This product is also referred to as a "treatment product". Consideration of the target area involves factors such as terrain, wind conditions, temperature, humidity, density of the pest, etc.
A spraying operation is generally conducted by one of two methods-either the treatment product is sprayed into the target area from the air (i.e., by aerial application) or from the ground (i.e., by ground application). In some situations, an aerial application is used to more quickly cover a larger target area. Conventional equipment is available for either type of application.
The aerial and ground types of application share at least two objectives for best results: (a) to decrease or retard the amount of drift of the treatment product from the target area and (b) to increase or promote the amount of deposition of the treatment product within the target area. The term "drift" will be understood to refer to the tendency of a treatment product to travel out of the target area--i.e., miss the specific pest within the target area. The term "deposition" will be understood to refer to the amount of treatment product which contacts the pest within the target area.
The problems of drift and deposition of the treatment product are encountered by people in agriculturally-related situations, whether farmers working with crops, people working with forests, etc.
Several materials and methods halve been developed in an effort to retard drift and promote deposition in spraying operations. Reference is made to the disclosures of Vartiak U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,356; Vartiak U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,109; Vartiak U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,942; and Bernot U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,087.
However, for various reasons, there continues to be a need in the agricultural industry for a composition and process by which spray drift can be decreased or retarded and by which spray deposition can be increased or promoted.